What Applause, Stones

When a friend of mine claimed I waited for applause, I questioned myself.

When setting off on my first round-the-world tour, I did not expect any applause. I was on the front page of one of the most important national newspapers, I got applause. I have to confess I liked it. When starting my second round-the-world tour, eh now I am doing the second, I expected more applause. I didn't get it, I was upset. Whereas setting off on the third, I had Carlo and my daughter in my life, I didn't need applause. On the contrary, I especially did not want applause. I had offers (it sound funny when put this way :) but I turned them down saying “I do not give solely travel interviews.” I told them I was out unless they published my “I'll be burning my passports once I've been to every country” and “Anybody who does not question borders should not call himself/herself a traveller. People need to be provoked a bit. But there needs to be a media with the courage to do it! All I wanted was to promote these ideas, I wanted to use the third rtw as a bait for this. As you can imagine, I'm a satiated traveller, what do I need to tell and brag about my travels? I do not wish people who approach me just because I have done a round-the-world tour. I do not have time for them. There has been such people and I chased them away. I'm not interested in people who do not believe in my “mission” and do not support me.

My friend thinks I expect applause, when in fact I am afraid of having stones hurled to my head. I mean, in this environment, my expectation is not applause but a stone to my head. I didn't get much stones until now, because nobody messed with me. And those who did, I believe I have staved off decorously. Because I approach the topic from only one point of view. Injustice at birth! (And that nobody can really object to.) I do not claim what I advocate is going to bring about a better world. “I don't know,” I say. “The only thing I know is there can be no excuse or justification for conserving such a global injustice.” I say that people's freedom of movement is above national-sovereignty. If you do not agree with this premise, you don't need to. We simply know where we diverge, end of argument.

Still, whenever I attempt to post anything on Twitter and look around a bit, I feel scared. I say “Merkel and Jolie fall short in their course” whereas some people curse and utter unimaginable profanities claiming these two women have gone too far about migrants. Incidentally, it's very interesting that one of these women is named Angela and the other Angelina. Angel and little angel. It's becoming.

I have no claim to be an angel. I only wish to be the scale of justice. I do not wish for any applause or praise either, just don't cast stones at me, that's enough.